Russellville Lady Cyclones pole vaulter Tori Barnes didn’t have the day she’d hoped for Thursday during the Class 6A state track meet at Cyclone Stadium.

Barnes, whose best vault cleared 11 feet, finished the day with a 9’8.

“It was just a bad meet,” Barnes said, tears still fresh in her eyes. “Sometimes that just happens.”

Barnes said she always wants to vault higher than her previous attempt, and the state meet was the worst time to fail to do so. Her vault on Thursday was enough for a seventh-place finish. Had she jumped within her usual range, she could have placed second or third.

Russellville head coach Charlie Goodman took her under his arm shortly after her finish. Goodman said he knew she didn’t have the day that she had hoped for, but that she was exactly the sort of athlete that makes Russellville track excel.

Her worst jump this year was higher than her best jump last year (9’2). She’s a hard worker, who cares about competing, Goodman said.

“I’m starting to realize just how much of a competitor she is,” Russellville assistant track coach Eston Jones said. “Normally, if she gets a length, she doesn’t miss it again, with today being the exception. She’s just an absolute hard worker. All I have to do is ask and she’ll give it her best.”

Jones works directly with the Lady Cyclones pole vault team. Barnes said Jones was among her favorite coaches.

“He always pushes me to do better,” she said.

Barnes, a junior, began pole vaulting in the seventh grade, where she said she learned to love the field event.

“I love the competition,” she said. “And it’s crazy when you’re in the air."

Jones said when Barnes came to the high school track program, she wasn’t bending the pole on her vaults. Once she began doing that, her length improved one-and-a-half feet in a year.

With her senior year still ahead of her, there is plenty of room for even more improvement. Jones said it was good to have a veteran coming back next season.

“That’s great for our program,” Jones said. “It’s something to look forward to. The way she works, the sky is going to be the limit for her.”